Can anyone comment on these food ideas for the daycare menu?

[KristineIN]

The church that we joined with has a daycare (I know, not what everyone wants, but right now it is helping pay the bills) I have been asked to help cut the food costs because the gal who was doing it before was spending WAY too much. ($2600 last month :eek:) I just got their menu and after going over it, they are doing great on having a good mix of vegetables & fruits, but they are offering something different every day of the month for lunch (as far as the main course) and they are having a lot of things like Gogurt (generic) & cereal bars ($$ per serving is about .30) I think it needs to be about .10. Anyway, this is the list of suggestions that I typed out, I went to school for this stuff, so it's not a big deal, I'm just a little overwhelmed, trying to work on this, co-op planning for next year & regular daily life!!!
Thanks: here's what I typed out so far.
(Most of the stuff they had on the menu, they had Turkey & Cheese, but I changed it to Ham. Also they are using larger bowls and they should be using small bowls. If you have any other food suggestions for meals or snacks, please let me know! They had more than just Goldfish as far as crackery snacks, I left them listed because I can't change everything up on these kids right away. The pudding also, is just about once a week. Right now it's really about reducing the costs and trying to keep things somewhat healthy, it's all wheat bread and wheat products, ect.
They get an AM Snack, lunch & PM snack, which makes things difficult trying to rotate snack ideas.
Thanks,
Kristine
My list I typed out:

Keep it simple, rotation on meals. Doing a great job with fruits & vegetable selections!!!
Suggestions:
PB & J (2-3x per month) are there peanut allergies?
Grilled Cheese (2-3 x per month)
Ham & Cheese (Buy a whole ham for about $1.79 a pound, freeze into portions that we need)
Beans & Franks (are we cutting hotdogs very small, since they are a choking hazard?)
Mac & Cheese
Spaghetti (every other Friday, use whole wheat pasta, sauce in bulk, freeze leftovers)
Sloppy Joes (have before spaghetti, use in sauce)
Cheese Pizza (Every other Friday)
Pancakes (2-3/month)
Ravioli & Chicken nuggets ok once in a while.
(Kids don’t need something different everyday of the month- easier on the cook, implement leftovers, FREEZE- shredded cheese, pasta & sauces) Use leftover vegetables at the end of the week for a mixed vegetable dish. Buy bread & bagels from the breadstore & freeze.

Vegetables:
Broccoli
Green Beans
Carrots
Cauliflower
Peas

Fruits:
Canned: Pears, Apples Sauce, Peaches, Pineapple, Fruit Cocktail, mandarin oranges
Fresh: Bananas, Apples, Grapes
Misc: Canned Pudding

Snacks:
Popcorn
Pretzels
Bagels with Cream Cheese (bagels from the bread store)
Apples & Peanut Butter
Goldfish (bulk)
Raisin Bread (From the bread store)
Animal Crackers (Bulk, only once in a while)
Cereal-moderation
Apples & Peanut Butter (are there peanut allergies???)

Cereals bars=about .30 a bar, Gogurt & string cheese also more expensive snacks. Try to keep snacks about .10 a serving.

Portion Control- scoops (larger one for pudding/canned fruits, small one for peanut butter (for PB & apples)
SMALLer Bowls

[Stirsmommy]

Are there any health code or regulations that govern childcare food for that many children that we have to think about before suggesting?

[Jean in Newcastle]

When I managed an afterschool program at a local private school, my kids loved have juice popsicles for a snack. (Poor juice in dixie cups, stick in a popsicle stick, freeze). Applesauce is also good for the snack category.

[KristineIN]

Are there any health code or regulations that govern childcare food for that many children that we have to think about before suggesting?

There aren't any guidelines that I'm aware of, it's a church daycare, so I forget what it's considered, it's posted on the wall. It's not government funded or anything, so I wouldn't think there would be an issue. I have to say, these kids are probably eating more fruits & vegetables than what my kids do at home. A lot of times for lunch, we just do sandwiches and don't really have anything to go with them.
Thanks,
Kristine

[Quiver0f10]

I wonder if the daycare would qualify for the food program through the USDA? I know day care centers can qualify, but they dont get reimbursed as much as in home daycares. It's worth looking into.

[Old Dominion Heather]

If you are worried about choking, maybe rethink the popcorn. I read somewhere that more kids choke on it than any other food. I might have my facts wrong, but you might want to check.

[j.griff]

I believe preschool aged children should have half an apple or half a banana, as opposed to a whole piece of fruit, so I'd mention that.
I wouldn't use a "scoop" for Peanut butter, I'd use a tablespoon and stick with the serving sizes recommended on the container.
If you were able to buy the big bulk cans of Tuna/Chicken (Sam's club) they could do tuna/chicken salad or tuna/chicken salad sandwiches, and I do believe (from my daycare days) that one half a sandwich is a serving for young children, and that at 6yo they get a whole sandwich.

[Holly IN]

I would re-think the hotdogs. Can you use something else instead of hot dogs? Seems to be a time waster to cut those hot dogs very small?? Everythign else looks great. Also what about fish sticks? (get them while on sale ??)

Holly

[OnTheBrink]

If you're wanting to cut costs, cheese is probably one of the most expensive items to buy these days.

Also, you might want to use sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter, if you're concerned about allergies. It's a bit more expensive, but if you allergic kids in your day care, you don't want to risk peanut exposure to them.

I remember being in day care and for snacks, we often just had cinnamon toast. I loved it! You can't get a whole lot cheaper than that!

Also, you could incorporate eggs, too. They're cheap and will be more cheap as spring gets closer.

[Kathy in MD]

There aren't any guidelines that I'm aware of, it's a church daycare, so I forget what it's considered, it's posted on the wall. It's not goernment funded or anything, so I wouldn't think there would be an issue.

Our Board of Health can inspect our church kitchen whenever they want to -- and close it down. It would be worthwhile to check. Also it might be the source of ideas and how to handle food allegies - some are serious.

[Whisperlily]

Of course, with a peanut allergic child, I shudder at peanut butter in a group setting.

Can you have parents be responsible for one of the snacks each day? I'm always getting requests from DS's K class, asking parents to bring the item on the list. Perhaps you could send a list out once a month, or every couple months? Parents bring in things that have somewhat of a shelf-life and that really helps.

*I walked away from this post several hours ago and never finished my thoughts... Hope you've gotten some good ideas. If I have time later, I'll post more about cost effective nutritious food ideas.*